Apollo 13′s astronauts never gave a thought to their mission number as they blasted off for the moon 50 years ago. Even when their oxygen tank ruptured two days later — on April 13.

As mission commander Jim Lovell sees it, he’s incredibly lucky. Not only did he survive NASA’s most harrowing moonshot, he’s around to mark its golden anniversary.

A half-century later, Apollo 13 is still considered Mission Control’s finest hour.

Text from the AP story ‘Houston, we’ve had a problem’: Remembering Apollo 13 at 50 by Marcia Dunn.

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